Guru Purnima: The Day We Bow to Wisdom

By Vinay Nalwa

Where would any of us be without someone who showed us how to begin?

Not with certificates or lectures, but through the quiet presence of someone who asked the right questions and helped shape who we became. In our tradition, we call such a person Guru, a teacher who removes darkness (ignorance).

While the world celebrates heroes of battle and invention, Sanatana Dharma begins with gratitude toward wisdom. Guru Purnima, the full moon of Ashadha (June–July) is our reminder that no journey of growth whether in thought, purpose, or spirit can happen without someone walking beside us at the start.

The day is celebrated in honour of Maharishi Veda Vyasa, the sage whose knowledge shaped a civilization. By compiling the Vedas, composing the Mahabharata, and organising the Puranas, he preserved the sacred memory of our ancestors for generations to come. That’s why Guru Purnima is also called Vyasa Purnima. 

The Guru and Disciple Connection

1. Sri Krishna and Arjuna - From Despair to DharmaOn the battlefield of doubt, Arjuna’s hands trembled. Krishna did not console him. He awakened him.The Gita was not whispered in peace, but thundered in crisis.

“क्लैब्यं मा स्म गमः पार्थ नैतत्त्वय्युपपद्यते”(Yield not to weakness, O Arjuna,  it does not befit you.)Thus began the transformation, from sorrowful warrior to the upholder of Dharma.

2. Adi Shankaracharya and Govindapada

Shankara, just eight years old, approached Govindapada on the banks of the Narmada. As legend goes, when the river flooded the sage’s cave, the child placed his kamandalu and stopped the river’s fury. Govindapada, witnessing this divine self-control, accepted him as a disciple.

 In just eight years, Shankara restored Advaita Vedanta across Bharat. But it was his Guru’s maunam (silence) that first transmitted the formless truth. Advaita is not explained but realized through surrender.

3. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda

Narendra (later Swami Vivekananda) was a rationalist youth. He questioned everything, including Sri Ramakrishna. “Have you seen God?” he asked bluntly. Sri Ramakrishna replied, “Yes, just as I see you. Only more clearly.” That one answer changed the destiny of a nation.

Before passing away, Ramakrishna whispered to Narendra, “Now, I give you all my power.” What followed was not just the Chicago address, but a lifelong mission to awaken Hindu society to its forgotten soul.

4. Ramana Maharshi and Paul Brunton

Ramana Maharshi never delivered sermons. His silence was the teaching. When Paul Brunton, a skeptical British journalist, came seeking “mystic India,” Ramana simply said:

“Find out who is the ‘I’ that is asking the question.”

Brunton returned transformed, writing books that introduced Vedanta to the West, not through performance, but through the stillness of a Sage who never left his cave, yet entered the world.

5. Chanakya and Chandragupta - The Rise of a Dharma-Rajya

In the corridors of Takshashila, Acharya Chanakya saw in Chandragupta the spark of a future ruler. He trained him not just in warfare but in strategy, statecraft, and restraint.

When Chandragupta once sat on a golden throne offered by allies, Chanakya made him sleep on the bare floor that night, lest the dream of Arthashastra turn into the decay of luxury.

6. Swami Chinmayananda and Tapovan Maharaj

Balakrishna Menon was a bold journalist who once set out to expose the “superstition” of sadhus in the Himalayas. But a chance meeting with Swami Tapovan Maharaj in Uttarkashi changed him forever.

Tapovan Maharaj agreed to teach him only if he would walk barefoot, live on alms, and sleep on the floor like a traditional seeker. Balakrishna accepted and was reborn as Swami Chinmayananda, founder of Chinmaya Mission, which today shapes the Hindu identity of thousands of children across the world.

7. Paramahansa Yogananda and Sri Yukteswar

As a teenager, Mukunda (later Yogananda) felt a deep inner pull toward the Divine. When he met Sri Yukteswar Giri, the Guru instantly recognized his disciple.

“You were sent to me. I saw you in my vision,” Yukteswar told him.

Yogananda eventually traveled to America in 1920 and founded the Self-Realization Fellowship, introducing Kriya Yoga and Vedantic teachings to the Western world through his iconic book Autobiography of a Yogi.

8. Rukmini Devi Arundale and Guru Pandanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai

When Rukmini Devi sought to learn Bharatanatyam, a classical art once confined to temples, many orthodox scholars resisted her. But Guru Meenakshisundaram Pillai, a legendary nattuvanar, taught her with full devotion.Rukmini Devi went on to revive Bharatanatyam and establish Kalakshetra, one of India’s finest cultural institutions.

9. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr. Satish DhawanWhen the SLV-3 launch failed in 1979, a young Kalam was ready to face public criticism. But his mentor, Dr. Satish Dhawan, took full responsibility. A year later, when the mission succeeded, Dhawan let Kalam take all the credit.A timeless example of true mentorship where the Guru not only shields in failure and uplifts in success.

Why Guru Purnima Matters, Especially Now In the modern world, where influence is mistaken for wisdom, and information overwhelms insight, the Hindu concept of the Guru remains not only relevant but essential. The Guru is not one who gives you answers but one who asks you the right questions. One who leads you to clarity.

Guru Purnima is beyond rituals. It is about remembering that none of us reach the light without someone who once held our hand in the dark.

For every Hindu youth across the world, these stories are not just history, they are blueprints. They remind us that no matter where you are, no matter how far you feel from your roots, the path of learning, guidance, and inner awakening is never closed.

All it takes is humility and the willingness to listen when wisdom speaks.

(The writer is an author and columnist)